Helmerich & Payne (NYSE:HP) Hits New 52-Week Low - Time to Sell?

Helmerich & Payne, Inc. (NYSE:HP - Get Free Report) shares hit a new 52-week low during trading on Thursday . The stock traded as low as $28.62 and last traded at $29.96, with a volume of 662237 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $33.19.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Citigroup upgraded shares of Helmerich & Payne from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their price target for the company from $33.00 to $40.00 in a report on Friday, January 10th. Evercore ISI reaffirmed an "in-line" rating and issued a $39.00 target price (down previously from $48.00) on shares of Helmerich & Payne in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. Barclays cut their price target on Helmerich & Payne from $39.00 to $36.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Benchmark restated a "hold" rating on shares of Helmerich & Payne in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada cut their target price on shares of Helmerich & Payne from $41.00 to $35.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a research note on Friday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $38.75.

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Helmerich & Payne Trading Up 2.3 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60, a quick ratio of 2.40 and a current ratio of 2.81. The stock has a market cap of $2.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.00, a P/E/G ratio of 3.41 and a beta of 1.37. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $33.12 and a 200-day simple moving average of $33.68.

Helmerich & Payne (NYSE:HP - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The oil and gas company reported $0.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.69 by $0.02. Helmerich & Payne had a return on equity of 11.31% and a net margin of 11.02%. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Helmerich & Payne, Inc. will post 3.11 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Helmerich & Payne Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be given a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.65%. Helmerich & Payne's payout ratio is 32.89%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of HP. State Street Corp lifted its stake in shares of Helmerich & Payne by 0.8% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,182,972 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $127,246,000 after acquiring an additional 34,395 shares during the period. ARGA Investment Management LP raised its holdings in Helmerich & Payne by 42.5% during the 4th quarter. ARGA Investment Management LP now owns 2,686,215 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $86,013,000 after purchasing an additional 801,000 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Helmerich & Payne by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,247,214 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $68,373,000 after purchasing an additional 22,875 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Helmerich & Payne by 3.5% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,557,931 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $49,885,000 after purchasing an additional 53,277 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp grew its position in shares of Helmerich & Payne by 27.7% during the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 1,522,144 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $48,739,000 after buying an additional 329,734 shares during the period. 96.05% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Helmerich & Payne

Founded in 1920, Helmerich & Payne, Inc (H&P) NYSE: HP is committed to delivering industry leading levels of drilling productivity and reliability. H&P operates with the highest level of integrity, safety and innovation to deliver superior results for its customers and returns for shareholders.